Dissolution or Legal Separation? |
| In most situations, a party contemplating legal
proceedings in California regarding his or her marriage has only the choice between a
judgment of dissolution based on irreconcilable differences or a judgment of legal
separation based on irreconcilable differences. Dissolution is usually chosen because a
judgment of dissolution terminates the marriage and restores the parties to the status of
unmarried persons, whereas a legal separation does not terminate the marriage.
A judgment of legal separation, however, does settle the spouses' financial
responsibilities to one another and to their minor children and, therefore, some
parties may seek legal separation because religious or moral considerations preclude them
from seeking a termination of the legal marriage relationship, or for other personal
reasons. Legal separation also may be sought to avoid the requirement that the petitioner must reside in California for six months and the county for three months before a petition for dissolution can be filed. A petition for legal separation can be amended to a petition for dissolution after the residence requirement is met. A judgment of legal separation does not bar either party from later petitioning for and obtaining a judgment of dissolution. |